Clad in the black of mourning, the Midnight Mission remains! But who is left to keep the faith? And how have they been changed by the Black Spectre’s master stroke? Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1 kicks off the next chapter of Moon Knight starts here as the congregants of the Midnight Mission pick up the pieces and carry on the mission…and find themselves faced with a mysterious new enemy in eerily familiar vestments.

I was rather nervous going in to read Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1. Marc Spector is dead, so how would the comic handle his death? Being Jewish, the mourning period should be pretty straightforward. But, the television show which pride itself on details screwed that up… and then made things odder with a Jewish man in an afterlife, let alone one with multiple gods. Well, I’m happy to say writer Jed MacKay handled that aspect, and more, masterfully and in a brilliant way.

During mourning, Judaism has specific rules that need to be followed. MacKay intelligently handles this by bringing in an expert, Ben Grimm, The Thing. Grimm is one of the more high profile Jewish characters in the Marvel universe and takes Spector’s friends through the process. MacKay has Grimm hitting the key notes showing off an understanding. It’s a fantastic way to handle it as it shows off just enough but not enough that details can be messed up.

The issue is about the mourning as each character goes through their own version of it. Reese takes over the conversation with a shrink, handling the narrative. Tigra is on a mission to find Marc’s killer. Marvel’s heroes step in or protect the Mission while Marc’s close friends sit shiva. It’s all handled so well, down to the mention Marc serving two gods and the conflict concerning that. MacKay nails the details.

Alessandro Cappuccio‘s art is fantastic with beautiful color by Rachelle Rosenberg and lettering by Cory Petit. The comic continues its dark cloud of a look without being too dark to the point its hard to tell what’s going on. The character designs are fantastic, and action top notch. It’s all a combination that creates a comic that visually feels like it’s a mix of sadness and rage.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1 is a hell of a start to the new year. It delivers such great details, action, character interaction, and that ending. Here’s to the next chapter for the Moon Knight and whatever is to come next.

Story: Jed MacKay Art: Alessandro Cappuccio
Color: Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Cory Petit
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle